The Science of Power
I'm an old dragon, now. The talons that once wielded so much power now shake when I walk and the colours that once roiled so flamboyantly along my scales now fade into dull shades of brown and gray. My tail drags limply behind me. The whisper of dry wings fills my ears. And the cruel irony of my name will forever echo around in my head, like a taunt from the dragons that I once ruled. Glory. Chapter One - (Two Years After The Defeat of Darkstalker) I flicked my wings back, enjoying the warmth that filled my scales. I knew that Tsunami thought it was ridiculous that I liked my suntime, but who really cared? I was a RainWing - no, I was the queen of RainWings. A queen, a warrior and a dragonet of destiny. Titles don't get much better than that. The platform dipped and swayed as heavy talons landed, and I saw jet black scales and a familiar library card clutched in ebony claws. "Glory!" "Starflight?" I raised my head, and instantly my senses were bathed in the iron tang of blood. Starflight was dripping with scarlet droplets, and before I even whistled for them the healers were surrounding the NightWing, cleaning his wounds and wrapping them in vine bandages. I hovered anxiously. "It's urgent!" Starflight said, his sightless eyes staring right at me as he tried to fight off the healers. "Glory! Queen Snowfall is attacking Jade Mountain!" "Queen Snowfall?" I flicked back my wings, digging through my mind. "Isn't that the IceWing queen?" "We need reinforcements," Starflight gasped. "Starflight! How did you even get here?" "Fatespeaker..." "Where is she?" "She left as soon as I got here." That was odd. Usually Fatespeaker made sure that Starflight was always in seeing range, or at least within earshot. I shook the thought off and gave Starflight a light pat, withdrawing my talons when I saw him wince slightly. I nodded to a light pink RainWing. "Jambu? Can you gather the RainWings and General Tsunami?" Peacemaker nearly crashed into me as Jambu nodded and whipped around, heading towards the training grounds. "Glory! Glory!" the young hybrid said, tugging onto my wing. "I wanna fight! Mommy say I fight." He puffed his chest importantly and bared his fangs. "I'm pretty sure Mommy didn't say you could fight," I said impatiently, nudging him away. Even if Peacemaker was treated like solid gold because of his mixed lineage, he was still an annoying fuzzball. I tried to focus. "Mommy say I fight! I wanna fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!" The word was punctuated by a massive yawn. "Banana, take care of him for me, okay?" I nudged Peacemaker with one of my talons and a round-faced RainWing bounded over and bowed. "Of course, Your Majesty." She turned to Peacemaker. "Do you want me to show you some venom tricks?" Peacemaker nodded enthusiastically and raced Banana to the edge of the glade, where there were a few bushes that looked as if they had been lathered with an oily black liquid. I ruffled my wings, waiting for Jambu to return. Was Jade Mountain alright? Were the students going to be okay? I saw the familiar emerald colour of fear begin to creep along my talons and I shook it off with an angry flip of my tail. My brother returned, breathless. "Your Majesty! The army is ready to advance." I steadied my breath and gave him a grim smile. "Then what are we waiting for?" The RainWings - although still pretty undisciplined - flew in neat ranks behind me. Tsunami did regular routes to scout out the area and check for any stragglers, but she seemed content when she rejoined me at the lead of the army. Soon, the looming double peaks of Jade Mountain began to morph out of the hazy horizon, and I nodded to Tsunami. We dove towards the safety of the trees. "Queen Glory!" a young SandWing said, from his hiding place in several bushes. "Qibli!" I rushed over to him and saw fierce scratches lining his pale yellow scales. Behind him, Moonwatcher was lying motionless next to a creek and Winter was treating several frostbreath wounds along his talons. The air rippled like water and Kinkajou's normally vibrant pink scales were pale green and white. "What are you doing here?" Jambu asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at the school?" Qibli shook his head and flicked his tail back and forth. "Queen Snowfall has captured Jade Mountain." He gestured with his wing, towards another set of peaks. "Queen Thorn and her army are camping out over there." I wished Deathbringer was here. The wish was so sudden and intense that I nearly laughed. My NightWing 'bodyguard' had went to Queen Coral's palace for trade negotiations of a rare pearl. If he was here, I wouldn't have to worry about anything. Work In Progress Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon) Category:Content (WillowandtheWoof)